Page 10 of Holley Jolly Biker

Ophelia

The first four weeks in our new home went like this.

We were able to find some brand-new mattresses that a store was tossing because there was a slash in the materials on the sides.

Sheets would be covering that, so I wasn’t worried about it.

At Goodwill, we were able to get pots, pans, cups, and plates, and at the dollar store, we were able to get everything else.

The woods behind the house had helped a lot.

Because every evening, we had a fire in the fireplace if the blankets we had didn’t keep us warm.

And thanks to our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Robbins, Mr. Robbins had come out while I was chopping wood and damn near chewed my head off for doing it. Therefore, he took over for me.

And the way he asked me to pay him back, I chuckled at it every time I thought about it.

Letting him play with Soraya. In front of me, of course.

Mr. and Mrs. Robbins were never able to have children.

He had served in the Vietnam war when he was eighteen until he was twenty-two. He happened to be a prisoner of war, and he was tortured.

An infection had set in by the time they got him out, and it had spread by the time he had been taken to Japan and then brought back to the United States.

My heart broke when they shared this story with me one night while we ate dinner with them.

Seeing the beautiful home they had and all the colors, I had promised my daughter, after I talked to the landlord, that we would be painting her room when I got my first paycheck.

Yes, I was able to find a job as a waitress at Wilson’s.

Wilson’s was a diner.

And thanks to our neighbors, who I had dubbed as our guardian angels, they were watching Soraya first thing in the morning, and Mr. Robbin was taking her to school for me.

I worked at the diner from five-thirty until one-thirty in the afternoon.

Thankfully, Mr. Wilson believed that a waitress shouldn’t have to rely solely on tips.

So, I got five dollars and thirty cents an hour plus tips.

And seeing as Wilson’s was the only diner in town, the place never slowed down.

Also, it was the only place that served hot food and hot coffee.

Yes, with my first paycheck and some pretty good tips, we were able to paint Soraya’s room.

Now... my girl can be a girly girl. However, her favorite color isn’t pink or purple. Nope, not my girl. It’s sage green.

And it looked beautiful on her walls.

I was also able to get a few nick-knacks to decorate the house, seeing as it was closing in on Thanksgiving.

***

Seeing as I was off today, I had promised Soraya that we would be going into town today and getting hot cocoa that Mr. Wilson served.

It was made with fresh milk, melted chocolate, mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes, and whipped cream.